Cheng Zhen didn't take the crystal voucher, and said that the food and desserts she made were delicious and suited his taste perfectly. He planned to leave all his meals to her from now on.
However, she also indicated that she didn't need to prepare special meals for him every day, because the city guards were very busy and would come whenever they had time, with no fixed return date.
Jiang Wan was so angry she was speechless. And the return date was still uncertain?
Does he himself welcome it?
Or does he consider this place his own home?
This was probably the most shameless man she had ever met!
Jiang Wan put away the crystal voucher and casually tossed it into the tree hole space, then went ahead and left the city as usual.
She did want to keep the twins at home, away from harmful outdoor gases, but thanks to Mi Mang's suggestion that she secretly join a WeChat group for homeowners, she'd seen some of the chat content over the past two days, which was detrimental to both her and the twins.
The members of the homeowners' group are all anonymous, and they don't know who each other is, so they speak without much restraint.
Late at night is when the residents' group chat is most active, with everyone talking about where to queue up to receive free supplies the next day.
That meant waiting in long lines was inevitable, and some people felt that the food they received wasn't enough for their families, so they still needed to use coupons to buy more.
As we were chatting, the topic suddenly changed.
Anonymous deity: "Did that woman with the twins not go out of town to mine crystals again today?"
Passerby A: "I didn't see any in my line, but where are the others?"
People kept popping up to confirm that Jiang Wan hadn't gone to dig for crystals again today.
Anonymous God: "She didn't find much when she went digging the previous times, so what is she eating and drinking now? Is there enough oxygen in her house?"
Passerby B: "Hey, you're so concerned about this person, your motives must be impure!"
Anonymous God: "Pah! She's a single woman, all alone with two kids. Shouldn't we be concerned? We all live in the same neighborhood. If something really happens to her, don't you think it'll be bad luck for you?"
Passerby A: "Heh, they're living a good life. Didn't you see those twins? They're so fair and delicate. Every time they go out of town, they each have an oxygen tank. Who among you is living a better life than them?"
Those who had been diving surfaced one after another: "That's right."
"That's right, that's right."
"She looks like a rich person. Maybe someone in her family works in a high-level unit. She doesn't have to worry about supplies at all."
"Yes, yes, maybe going out of the city to dig for crystals is just a way to exercise."
Jiang Wan watched silently, neither replying nor participating in the chat anonymously; it was pointless.
She tucked the blankets around the sleeping twins, then checked the oxygen level in the oxygen circulator to make sure there were no problems before dawn, before returning to her own bed.
Unable to sleep, she simply picked up her phone, opened the WeChat group, and continued to spy on the chat.
The conversation continued, still revolving around her: "I think she has quite a few supplies, otherwise why isn't she more proactive in mining crystals? I haven't seen her collect free supplies much either."
"She probably doesn't know she can get free supplies, right? And no one added her to the residents' group!"
Anonymous Deity: "Then what do you think she has? How much supplies do you think she has?"
...
Mi Mang, who added her to the group, didn't say anything, whether she didn't see the chat or was spying on the conversation.
Jiang Wan locked her phone and secretly breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed she had been too complacent before. She would have to keep digging for crystals, otherwise, when the owners collectively became suspicious of her, they might gang up on her and kill her to seize the resources she had.
A while ago, a similar robbery occurred in the neighboring community. A group of more than a dozen people without oxygen storage rooms robbed a pair of sisters who lived in oxygen storage rooms. They killed them, took over the house, and divided up the sisters' belongings.
It turns out these two were college students who loved to stay home and hoard food when they had nothing to do, and by some twist of fate, they accumulated a lot of supplies before the apocalypse.
They possess a very distinct personality trait among contemporary young people—live for the moment!
So even in the apocalypse, they didn't think about being prepared for the worst. The two of them only went out of the city twice to dig for crystals. Once they had enough to buy oxygen tanks, they stayed at home, planning to eat up all their supplies before going back to dig. When someone asked them out of curiosity, they didn't try to hide anything and just told the truth.
And so, he attracted the attention of others and lost his life.
Jiang Wan felt that she absolutely could not follow in their footsteps, even though she had enough supplies to last her for decades.
But you have to be alive to enjoy these supplies in the tree hole space!
So the next day, Jiang Wan and the twins filled their stomachs, put on oxygen masks, and went out.
You have to dig for crystals, and you have to wear oxygen tanks, because your health is your own responsibility.
She left early, and the car was almost full of acquaintances. Everyone was used to leaving the city at this time every day, and when they saw her with two children and fully armed, many people looked at her strangely.
Halfway there, someone couldn't help but ask, "Young lady, you carry an oxygen tank every day, do you have enough crystals to go around?"
A small oxygen cylinder costs five crystal vouchers, so the three of them would need fifteen vouchers. They don't even know if they can dig up that many in a day.
Jiang Wan smiled and replied, "It's basically not enough, but the children's father is a soldier guarding the city, and he provides subsidies to the family. So, no matter how hard life is, we can't let the children suffer!"
Who would have thought that not long ago she casually claimed that the twins' father was a city guard, but now their father really is a city guard!
But she chose not to mention the fact that she had absolutely no relationship with the twins' father, feeling there was no need to say anything, and that she could at least use his name to intimidate those with ulterior motives.
Upon hearing this, the people on the bus suddenly realized, "Oh yeah, how could we forget? She had already said that the man in her family was a soldier guarding the city!"
So it seems she wasn't lying!
With the subsidies from the city guards, her trips outside the city to mine crystals were merely to complete her mission, so there was no need for her two children to suffer.
All the various glances that had been subtly directed at her from inside the car vanished.
That's reality; nobody wants to mess with the city's guards.
With everyone keeping quiet, Jiang Wan breathed a sigh of relief. She and the two little ones dug diligently for four hours, finding a total of 12 crystals, which they exchanged for crystal vouchers back in town.
Jiang Wan led them by the hand on either side, asking as they entered the house, "Are you hungry? Let's go back and eat something first. Mom will go get the free supplies, and I'll cook dinner when I get back, okay?"
The two little ones looked at each other, then said in unison, "We want to eat instant noodles!"
Jiang Wan refused, but cooked them a bowl of udon noodles instead, which they shared.
"Stay home and be good, Mom will be back soon."
Since it's all an act, she should go all the way. She should show her face more often at those free supply distribution points in the future.
As soon as she opened the door and went out, she heard voices in the hallway. Someone was coming down from the 18th floor while talking.
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